1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of protective clothing devices, particularly finger and hand protectors which are specialized for particular work operations, especially cutting and hair grooming operations such as carried out by trained hair stylists and barbers which provide protection against accidental piercing or cutting by sharp pointed scissors or similar hair cutting implements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Finger coverings and hand protectors have long been used to help the wearer in carrying out special operations either in work or in sports and their benefits are well known.
For example, Eckrode, in U.S. Pat. No. 923,118 describes a three finger rubber cot for use by a surgeon or physician in carrying out a gynecological examination or for use in exploring small wounds, mouth, throat, etc., to prevent exposing the physician to infection. A similar protector for the thumb and first two fingers is shown in French Patent No. 1106008 published Dec. 12, 1955.
Metal protectors for the finger tips, for the fingers and for the thumb have been described. For example, Ross, U.S. Pat. No. 1,314,098 describes individual finger type protector pieces which include prongs to help pick cotton, during removal of the cotton ball from the plant. Dougan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,916,921 discloses a metal thumb stall to protect the thumb from cuts in paring fruits and vegetables. Another obvious example is a thimble which protects the finger or thumb from being pierced by a sewing needle. A further example is a finger guard to protect against a knife used to cut and slice food such as described in Consigny, U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,804 which describes a single flexible guard member for the second finger. Still another example is a metal thumb clip to protect a manicurist while filing a person's nails as described in Shane, U.S. Pat. No. 1,783,984.
Gloves have been modified structurally to protect the palms of the hand or to gain a further skill in sports. For example a shock absorbing cyclist's glove is shown in Genz, European Patent No. 82 40 0618 in which the palm is padded. A glove for playing billiards as shown in Anast, U.S. Pat. No. 1,362,461 and in Baker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,573,220 to improve the player's skill. Also a protective glove for playing video games is disclosed in Chappell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,097 which clearly helps the game enthusiast in making rapid hand movements.
Special other protective devices have been proposed which involve less than all of the fingers. An example is the two finger stall used for picking fruit shown in Richardson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,642,311. Another example is a three finger protective device especially adapted for the upper finger joints of the middle fingers and used for archery as shown in Bellamy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,177. Another sports example is the two finger metal plate protector for bowling which is shown in Paige, U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,029.
Special cutaway gloves have been proposed to aid painstaking drawing operations, such as drafting, for example, in Main et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,339, who shows a drafting glove for the little finger only. Also devices for serving food with the hands such as a triangular sheath glove is shown in Longstreth, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,592. This sheath is discarded after use and when used serves to grasp the food between the thumb, index finger and middle fingers without bringing the food into direct contact with the hands.
The prior art makes a distinction between protective gloves or glove-like devices which perform a very special function in the playing of sports and games from those in which the protective device or element is used to embrace a specific finger portion for carrying out a specific working task. An example can be seen in the Diggins U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,649 in which a special glove with an open top area is provided and in which all of the finger portions have been deleted, the remaining glove having the wrist portion, palm portion and a back portion for the hand. The glove structure in this patent provides a special stitching area at the open top in which truncated stalls are formed by stitches to accommodate the fingers and the thumbs. The teaching of this patent is that this construction will protect the fingers and the hands in such violent contact sports as football, where the players are very prone to finger and hand injuries.
An example of the special work protector used in cutting operations is found in Dougan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,916,921 showing a stall fitting over the top of the thumb to protect against cuts when peeling fruits and vegetables, or a similar stall in German Patent No. 578242 showing a thumb stall and an index finger stall to protect these when cutting vegetables.
None of these prior art devices is suitable to protect the hand of the hair stylist or barber who is manipulating sharp pointed scissors in one hand and exposes the other hand to inadvertent piercing or cutting by the tips of these scissors during the cutting of hair.
After long research the inventor has discovered that most beauticians, barbers and hair stylists suffer cuts and splits in only the first joint area of the first two fingers. These cuts occur during their training and during their working experience. The accidental cutting occurs quite frequently and not surprisingly when working under pressure or under conditions where the operator is suffering from fatigue. The inventor is familiar with those special fingerless gloves which are padded in the palm area and are worn by shoe repair workers when cutting the leather sole or heel parts with a sharp leather cutting knife in the other hand. The gloved hand is used to hold the shoe to which the sole part is fitted. Such fingerless gloves are not suitable to protect against the cuts and splits which occur while cutting hair for the reason that the protective device must leave the index and second fingers free to bend separately and leave the third and fourth fingers entirely open while the palm must be entirely open. During holding the hair, the third and fourth fingers are curled under the first two fingers. When a lock of hair is grasped in a lower layer, the operator may have to feel the length. All parts of the hand that can be open must be open and free to sense the hair by touch.
A glove which has been cut away in the finger portions to leave the first two joints of each finger exposed has been tried for cutting hair but is totally unsatisfactory because even with the thumb free, the hand holding the hair is so constrained that the operator can not manipulate the small strands of hair at the tips nor can the operator feel the lower layers of hair as required during the cutting operation.
The first attempt which was made by the inventor to provide a two-finger joint protector for the forefinger and the second finger utilized an elastic garter conststruction in which. the garter fabric formed a wrist band, a joining band and a separate two-finger stall was used. This device was wholly unsatisfactory, caused rubbing on the wrist, rubbing on the hand and insufficient flexibility at the first joint area below the knuckles of the digit finger and the second finger. The garter band was replaced by a rubber band construction but it was also unsatisfactory because of the rubbing action which the operator did not like. Indeed, in both the hand-band modification and the wrist band modification the user complained of intolerable chafing between the first and second fingers. Cuts were still made in both of these models by the scissors tips at the base of the first two fingers.
It was only when a critical angle of the web between the first and second fingers of the protector was provided, about 15.degree. to 30.degree. , that the special two finger protector became easy to use for cutting and free from chafing. It was only when the joint length between the lower knuckle portion for the forefinger and second finger and the first knuckle of these fingers was adjusted to free each first knuckle that an adequate protective device against cutting by the scissors tips was achieved. It was only when the inside of these joint protective portions was thickened that the protector assured that no piercing would take place.